A Test of Skill
by freshfables
Summary: "This is not your average competition Jane, we are all in danger of loosing our lives to our competitive spirits." Includes characters from the avengers and Thor to spice it up a bit. Could contain some romance in future if the opportunity arises.
1. Thor's strength

A Test of Skill

Chapter 1- Thor

Thor threw the giant a nasty snarl before tossing the entire table, food laden and all, straight into his stomach with a mighty thwack. The recipient groaned and fell on one enormous knee but stood straight once more and calculated his own attack. The fight had proceeded like this for a short time, with neither gaining the upper hand, but that seemed all about to change. In one deft movement the giant had launched out in a random side swipe perfectly aimed straight for his smaller opponent, but Thor had not chosen his skill as strength for nothing, and caught the giant's huge pale hand in mid swing (much to his own surprise) and simultaneously flipped the creature over his head. The giant's head came crashing down behind him, causing a colossal dent in the pristine marble of the hall and ceased to move another inch. Thor just stared at the thing and looked rather surprised at his strength, staring in wonder at his own tanned hands.

Loki watched from a distance (as usual) and rolled his eyes in despair; the oaf had never known his own strength and was more than likely to cause serious accidental damage to someone one day, preferably not me he thought, and probably killing himself in his mortification.

"Good show Odinson, bravo! The famed stories of your unmatched strength are certainly not simple fables." The reigning man of the giant folk, as large as he was, had a jolly smile and welcoming hearty voice. He sat in the midst of an enormous grand hall that could almost rival the sun in light. Millions of crystals- mostly blue, lined the walls in abundance and lit the thousands of giant's faces that lined the long tables. All of which were so heavy with culinary delights that the wood had begun to bow.

"Now you will lift…" He paused for a moment and scoured for something of great weight.

"You will lift two entire benches of fully grown giants." At this everyone gasped in shock and naturally thoughts turned to unfair play. Turning towards Thor, everyone looked expectantly at the thunderer whose grip on Mjolnir had greatly increased.

"But of course." Was all that Thor honoured them with, but it was enough. The simple answer had put the giant king on edge, after so confidently assuming that he had got the better of the God. Surely he would not be able to lift one bench so long and dangerously loaded, let alone two!

Meanwhile Sif looked over her face stone cold, portraying invisible concern; she knew that Thor's pride and ego sometimes got the better of him- especially when competing. A fleeting glance at Fandral confirmed her beliefs; everyone was under the same impression.

Thor had taken it too far this time.

She considered interceding to save him the humiliation but decided that he would find surrender practically unbearable, and would more likely die trying that except defeat.

In a similar frame of mind, Jane stared at her boyfriend (she still wasn't used to that term) in more anger than worry. What in name of all that's scientific was he doing? He knew, she knew, everyone knew that even _he_ couldn't lift that. In fact, she was sizing up to go over there and give him a good slap just to prove what she thought of this stupid contest, but decided better of it when she saw the almost murderously determined glare in his eyes. Oh no, he can't be **that** stupid…

As similar thoughts were exchanged privately among the entirety of team midgets (the name curtsey of Darcy), Loki's gaze remained fixed on Thor and a smirk formed on the younger "brothers" face.

The giants in question that were to be lifted looked more and more concerned as Thor's determination remained unwavering. He began to stride out in confidence towards two very long benches that stood back to back.

"Come on point break, come on." Tony whispered below his breath with such vigour that Natasha could see that he would happily stride out there and take Thor's place if it meant gaining a point for their team. He was way too competitive.

In one collective wave all fell silent, as if an invisible being had gestured for quiet. Even the candles that lined the lengthy walls found that their hissing fell short. Not a foot fall or an echo sounded as all sat with eyes glued on Thor.

Darcy took a deep breath and held it; she could practically hear her own heart beat pulsing in her ears. Shhhh she scolded it, this is about to get good…

Thor began to roll his shoulders and with each turn became increasingly aware of the eyes that were boring into him. He could feel adrenaline pulsing through every vein and muscle, right down to each cell. Slowly, he squatted with his thick legs spread shoulder width apart and focused on his ab muscles. Sliding one hand beneath each bench on either side, he tried to find the perfect balanced point as to not tip the towering structures.

Easy now.

With his position roughly correct, Thor closed his eyes and forced every inch of strength he had to the surface. Even then he was not sure if this would suffice. No he could not afford to think like that.

Come on Thor, come on. You could cut the tension with a knife.

No one knows how he did it but within the space of a few seconds he had the giant filled benches two metres from the ground, and everyone froze in utter amazement. How on Asgard?

With an almighty cry from the effort, Thor dropped them like a dead weight with a deafening bang and glared triumphantly up at the startled face of the giant king. _Your move sucker_ is what Darcy interpreted that look as, although perhaps not in those _exact _words…

"I believe that is one point to team midgets good king?" The rattling boom of his voice echoed around the startled hush, causing even the largest of the giants to jump, and reflected just how much he had knocked it out of the park.

"Wooo! Yeah, go Thor!" Darcy shouted into the void of gobsmacked-ness and nudged a still frozen Jane into joining her.

"Thor, Thor, Thor!" The chant spread like wild fire and soon the entirety of the great hall had begun to join in the celebration. Giants brought their enormous fists down onto the table in rhythm and the servants of Odin and all began to dance in time. Throughout it all Thor smiled and grinned like a child on Christmas morning causing Loki to simply stare in silence at the spectacle before him. A private smirk lined his features as he surveyed the area; it wasn't pride that caused it, but a sense of superiority over the repulsive nature of the giant king. Yes he may have been all smiles and welcomes but there was something far more volatile underneath his huge gold clad bulk. Something only he could see; something corrupt and competitive. Something dangerous.

As the applause and congratulations, the songs and the poems were written of such a captivating feet of strength, Odin simply looked on from his high seat and smiled to himself. Thor was his legacy, and what a legacy it was.

**Preview for chapter 2**

"_Shit, that wasn't meant to happen!" The sheer mass of smoke and colour completely engulfed the west side of the hall, causing screams to ricochet through the marble pillars as they were thrown head long into solid walls. Thor turned just in time to see (blank) lying across one of the many tables with roaring flames edging slowly closer. _

_NO!_

_He began to run…_

_**Now the fun begins! So who do you think's next? Who's in major trouble? Let me know what your thoughts are. Have a nice day now! **____** Just for the record I don't own Marvel.**_


	2. Jane's explosion

A test of skill

Chapter 2- Jane

"JANE!" Everybody sprinted; they ran as fast as they could. Come on hurry up thought Jane.

"JANE! HOLD ON!" Was all that Thor would permit himself to say without losing control. Jane had been selected next on their team and she had chosen, you guessed it, science.

"Jane just don't try to move alright!" That was Darcy's voice, it shook violently with raw panic and set Jane's already shattered nerves on edge. How bad did it look?

Currently she was clinging desperately to the side of a _very_ deep crater that had become the result of her skill. Her task had been to create a small explosion with only that which was in the room. Well she'd done it, to say the least.

The crater was so deep in fact, that even two of the tallest giants holding onto one another's shoulders couldn't even begin to reach her. She'd fallen so far that she was currently almost two thirds down, grasping hold of a precarious rock ledge that shifted with every breath she took. One false move, even one and she would go plummeting to her untimely death.

They had considered getting Thor to fly down and retrieve Jane, but soon discovered that the energy field Mjolnir produced was enough to make the rocks shift and fall, narrowly missing Jane's head at one point. He earned a good slap from Darcy for that. Many of the weapons and forces that they tried to use proved far too ruff for the fragile structure of the rock crater, even the all father's staff.

"Can someone **please **get her out of there? For goodness sakes!" Darcy's impatience began to spread like wildfire as several of their team members complained.

"Look, that chemical reaction is going to go for a second run in a minute so I suggest we get our asses in gear!" Tony confronted Thor in his usual style, but currently the latter was more concerned with other matters so Steve defended him.

"Hey, we're all stressing out here so just calm down or you'll make things worse." The super solider stood with his bulky figure blocking Tony from a direct b-line to the Thunderer.

"Move over capicicle, or we'll all be blown sky high."

"Tony stop." He hissed, "You'll cause panic and that's the last thing we need right now. Just keep it to yourself and use a little common sense."

"Well **excuse me** if I'm not "showing a little common sense"." He mimicked Steve's voice as if the captain were a wining child. "…but personally I'd prefer to live so I can try some of those massive cakes!"

"Keep going like this and the explosion won't be the only thing you need to worry about." _Woooah _thought Tony, Steve doesn't threaten unless he's desperate.

"Fine just don't blame me when I say I told you so." With that Tony stormed off to find something to counteract the explosion, grabbing Bruce's arm as he sailed past. All Steve could do was roll his eyes and try to help the situation at hand, but he did keep a wary eye on the puddle of chemicals that sat next to the opening. No one had guessed that the metal of this realm would be so reactive compared to that of earth- hence the reaction.

"Thor, Thor I'm slipping." Jane's grip had greatly depleted and her arms began to turn to jelly from the strain. She didn't know how much more they could withstand. The yelp did- as Tony put it "get everyone's asses in gear".

"Loki try to lift her through levitation." It wasn't a question, not even so much as a request. The hardened authority in Thor's eyes proved that much.

Loki sighed- he knew this wasn't going to end well, yet his "brother's" plans seemed to become even more ridiculous whenever Jane was involved.

"You know this is not going to end well Thor, why don't we…"

"Enough. You WILL levitate Jane or I will levitate you in a very unpleasant way, do we understand each other? We are short of time." To all around them Thor appeared the picture of authority, voice level and stern, face as could as ice but that didn't fool Loki. He saw straight through the façade with a simple glance, he was petrified. Petrified of losing Jane, his little, venerable not to mention fragile Jane. It was almost laughable that someone with so much strength could be so emotionally weak. Yet then again he considered- that is what set the two apart. Thor was physically strong, whereas he was mentally.

"If you're sure that you trust me?"

"Loki!" Scolded Frigga, who up to this point had remained fairly patient throughout the competition, now it looked as if she would have to step in. If she could she would have levitated Jane herself, but the distance meant that this could present a challenge and the last thing that she wanted was to endanger Jane through a fault.

"Loki you _will_ help. We only have a matter of minutes before we all find ourselves in trouble." All eyes turned to Loki. _Great _he thought_, just great, now I'm going to get the blame when the mortal dies. _Resigned to his fate, Loki carefully stepped towards the very edge of the crater. The rocks crunched and slid beneath his feet.

"Try not to move." Jane nodded at this slightly reluctantly.

The familiar flow of energy cascaded over him as he focused his attentions on Jane, slowing his heart rate and breathing deeply. A sense of calm surrounded his every gesture as he slowly began to lift Jane from the ledge. In turn, she continued to grasp onto the ledge as she was slowly pulled away.

"Let go of the ledge or you will bring the rocks down around you."

"I can't, I'll fall."

"You will not fall, I am right here." It became apparent that she held little trust in him; no one could exactly blame her on that account. So he decided to take a different approach, lowering his voice, making the magic that bound her visible to the human eye and lifting her far as if in a cradle. For some odd reason that he would never understand, humans believed far more readily in that which they can see.

"That's it just let go nice and slowly, there is no rush." He was trying to calm her down, he really was but it didn't help when there was a mass of chemicals fizzing and boiling at your side.

She finally released the side only to find herself encased in a field of light green, gently guiding her as if she were a porcelain doll that would crack on a protruding rock.

"This is incredible, it defies the laws of gravity how is it even possible?" Ever the science women even in times of crisis thought Darcy.

"Miss Foster I'm going to move a little quicker, hold tight."

"Loki? What are you doing?" Thor appeared at his side his voice utterly distort with mistrust.

"We haven't got long, so just stand there and ready yourself to catch her." It was difficult to divide his attentions between the two tasks so Thor would just have to deal with commands.

"Are you ready Miss Foster?" He shouted down to her.

"I think so."

With that the magic that surrounded her became a darker green and far more rushed, it began to spiral more violently and soon she found herself soaring headlong for a sharp shelf that lay about ten metres from the top.

"Look out!" She screamed until her throat was hoarse and dry. Meanwhile the chaos had begun above her, every able individual had sprinted away from the hole and was currently attempting to push a huge chair towards the explosion hoping to cover it. Even Odin, Frigga and the royalty of the giant folk mucked in but to small avail.

"My apologies, there are many distractions at present." His usually silky voice was as strained as her own. What was happening up there?

"Just hurry up!" Jane's patience was wearing thin; the boulders around her had begun to shake violently with some falling smack into the ledge that she had previously held onto.

"Damn that was close!" This was getting too much, she'd nearly been killed.

It was as these aggravated thoughts ran through her head that she heard a series of shouts from just above and the sound of several giant's feet ploughing across the hall away from her. This was followed by the voice of the woman she knew to be called Sif, Steve, and Fandral all directing the stampede to one corner of the hall.

In one sudden rush, Jane found herself propelled towards the opening and thrown head long out of the crater, that's it she thought; he's trying to kill me. However before she could even contemplate what pain was awaiting her when she finally stopped cartwheeling, strong arms had enveloped her thin figure.

"Thor I…" Shock still enveloped her as she attempted to make sense of what just happened. "There is no time." Thor interrupted her, "we must get away."

Even as he said this Thor could hear the remaining few thundering over towards the others who had taken refuge away from the explosion site.

Nestled like mice in a box, giants stood shoulder to shoulder with the mortals and Asgardians at their bare feet. The reality of the situation began to grip Jane as she surveyed the bomb site around the crater, it hadn't destroyed the entirety of the great hall (thanks primarily to its size), but the surrounding tables had not faired particularly well.

"Thor! Few- hang on give me a sec." Tony and Bruce came sprinting from afar both panting and gasping after their wild goose chase. The billionaire was currently bent with his hands on his knees with a finger held up towards the three.

"Thor we think we've found a counter to the explosion, it's a long shot but by the looks of it we're clutching at straws anyway so…" There was obvious hesitation in Banners voice when he interceded for Tony, as if he was waiting for Thor to reach over and strike him in light of such a suggestion.

"Give it to me; if it explodes then I will be better suited to the impact." Thor held out his hand to take the bottle with Jane stood by his side, still slightly out of sorts. If she had been with it no doubt she would have asked what on earth they were going to use, and perhaps things may have turned out differently.

"You go; it's quite a way to get over there carrying someone." Bruce gestured to the startled Jane by his side, I'll throw the mixture into the fire (as the chemicals had now begun to blaze amidst their bubbling), that way if things get bad I'll have the err, _other guy_ to protect me." Everyone simply stared at each other for a moment before Jane spoke up,

"I can move by myself." She went to take a step forward but wobbled and lost her balance. With that Thor grabbed her waist in one swift motion and began to gallop towards a worried looking Steve who was positioned half way between the group and everyone else.

"Everything okay?" He shouted across the vast space.

"Help the others!"

A series of scuffs sounded behind them as Tony, Darcy and Loki came into view just behind one of the far pillars; the marble floor squeaked in their desperation to get away from the site. Loki was pulling ahead at a fast sprint leaving Tony behind him and Darcy a little way back.

Boy, I should work out more thought Darcy in between gasps for breath, oh come on Darce you know that you always say that and then it's 'I'll start Monday'. Seriously though I am ridiculously unfit! Her legs had begun to feel like lead weights as she tried desperately to move one in front of the other. Just focus on the rhythm Darce, come on just focus on the rhythm. Despite this though, she still found that she was quickly losing momentum and her gait was dropping at a worrying rate. Her glasses had begun to slip so that didn't exactly help either. Turning towards her Loki and Tony could both see that she had fallen juristically behind- dangerously so. Tony turned as if to go back for her but before he got the chance Loki was gliding past him in her direction,

"Keep going." Is all he murmured in his passing, before vanishing in a vale of green. He reappeared at Darcy's side and was about to teleport them both back towards the group (something he had been trying to avoid due to exhaustion) when the dark prince heard a deafening crack from behind.

Back with Banner- the doctor stood a good five metres back from the site ready for the worst. Okay 3, 2, 1…

"Shit, that wasn't meant to happen!" Was all that Bruce's own voice choked out before a roar replaced it. The sheer mass of smoke and colour completely engulfed the west side of the hall, causing screams to ricochet through the marble pillars as they were thrown head long into solid walls.

Darcy only had a split second to catch the look on Loki's face before they were both flying head long towards a very solid looking wall. Flames surrounded them on all sides and she could feel the weight of the air as it hit her square in the back. The world slowed to a standstill as each breath Darcy took shook her entire body; she could have sworn she could hear both their heart beats as debris flew through the air, her hair flying around her in a sluggish daze. This is really going to hurt…

Nothing.

Wait **what?**

Still nothing.

This isn't right. Opening her eyes as carefully as she could, Darcy wondered why she could only make out blurs and the shape of a woman with chestnut hair and another with red hair leaning over her, until she realised that her glasses had flown off. The women looked more shocked than she did at her sudden appearance out of thin air, until she turned just in time to see a slither of green mist roll away. What?

Thor turned just in time to see Loki lying across one of the many tables with raging flames edging slowly closer.

"NO!"

Thor began to run…

"LOKI GET UP!" He kept running towards him, every muscle in his thighs bulged with strain. No response came from the man that lay slumped over one of the tables, causing even those who didn't like Loki (even Barton) to tense.

"LOKI GET UP THERE IS A FIRE!" To be honest _a fire_ was hardly sufficient to describe the roaring inferno that hurtled towards the prince- smoke bellowed and shrouded the entire west side of the hall.

Tony skidded to a halt metres away from the gathered giants and his team mates, spinning round just in time to observe the scene, _this can't be good…_

**Preview for part 2**

"**L-Loki I'm losing control. I can't help, I can't… I'm sorry…" Bruce grabbed manically at his head as if to pull the **_**other guy**_** out of his brain, but Tony was already crouching too close.**

_**There we go; it's been a while so it's a longer one. Let me know what your thoughts are. Have a nice day now! **____** Just for the record I don't own Marvel.**_


End file.
